Japanese English top
Table 10(Pop., Population)
Urban Population (Sex, District) 1891-2001  
pop10e (x1,000)
Year 1891 1901 1911 1921 1946 1953 1963 1971 1981 2001
　　　　　 Number                     Sex,District Number　(x1,000) ％ Number　(x1,000) ％ Number　(x1,000) ％ Number　(x1,000) ％ Number　(x1,000) ％ Number　(x1,000) ％ Number　(x1,000) ％ Number　(x1,000) ％ Number　(x1,000) ％ Number　(x1,000) ％
Both sexes　Total 321.4 100.0 414.1 100.0 542.9 100.0 637.5 100.0 1,023.1 100.0 1,239.1 100.0 2,016.9 100.0 2,848.1 100.0 3,192.7 100.0 2,467.2 100.0
Colombo 145.7 45.3 204.8 49.5 292.0 53.8 353.3 55.4 578.5 56.5 709.4 57.3 1,023.8 50.8 1,476.2 51.8 1,264.5 39.6 1,221.9 49.5
Gampaha - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 388.3 12.2 301.7 12.2
Kalutara 10.9 3.4 15.4 3.7 21.4 3.9 29.3 4.6 50.6 4.9 58.0 4.7 126.4 6.3 159.5 5.6 178.1 5.6 112.7 4.6
Kandy 23.3 7.2 35.2 8.5 44.0 8.1 46.6 7.3 75.9 7.4 90.4 7.3 119.2 5.9 147.3 5.2 145.1 4.5 156.9 6.4
Matale 4.2 1.3 5.0 1.2 5.8 1.1 7.9 1.2 14.1 1.4 17.3 1.4 29.4 1.5 37.6 1.3 38.1 1.2 36.4 1.5
Nuwara Eliya 2.7 0.8 5.0 1.2 7.4 1.4 7.5 1.2 10.8 1.1 17.8 1.4 24.5 1.2 27.6 1.0 37.3 1.2 43.1 1.7
Galle 33.6 10.5 37.2 9.0 41.8 7.7 42.4 6.7 59.0 5.8 66.4 5.4 130.0 6.4 154.9 5.4 166.4 5.2 110.7 4.5
Matara 8.6 2.7 19.4 4.7 22.5 4.1 26.0 4.1 34.8 3.4 40.5 3.3 61.1 3.0 66.1 2.3 71.2 2.2 64.5 2.6
Hambantota 2.5 0.8 5.2 1.3 6.6 1.2 7.7 1.2 10.8 1.1 11.2 0.9 22.2 1.1 33.3 1.2 41.4 1.3 21.7 0.9
Jaffna 43.1 13.4 33.9 8.2 40.5 7.5 42.4 6.7 62.6 6.1 77.2 6.2 150.8 7.5 233.9 8.2 270.6 8.5 - -
Manner - - - - - - - - - - - - 9.0 0.4 11.1 0.4 13.9 0.4 - -
Vauniya - - - - - - - - - - - - 11.2 0.6 20.6 0.7 18.5 0.6 - -
Mullaittivu - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7.2 0.2 - -
Kilinochchi - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Batticaloa 7.3 2.3 10.0 2.4 10.7 2.0 10.6 1.7 13.1 1.3 17.4 1.4 49.3 2.4 69.5 2.4 79.4 2.5 - -
Ampara - - - - - - - - - - - - 28.6 1.4 32.0 1.1 53.3 1.7 112.4 4.6
Trincomalee 11.6 3.6 11.3 2.7 8.9 1.6 9.4 1.5 32.5 3.2 26.4 2.1 34.8 1.7 72.2 2.5 82.7 2.6 - -
Kurunegala 4.7 1.5 6.5 1.6 8.2 1.5 11.7 1.8 15.5 1.5 20.5 1.7 30.1 1.5 42.2 1.5 43.5 1.4 34.7 1.4
Puttalam 8.8 2.7 9.3 2.2 11.0 2.0 13.6 2.1 16.9 1.7 21.6 1.7 38.2 1.9 52.4 1.8 61.7 1.9 65.1 2.6
Anuradhapuraya 2.7 0.8 3.7 0.9 5.3 1.0 7.7 1.2 12.3 1.2 18.4 1.5 32.9 1.6 38.8 1.4 41.4 1.3 56.6 2.3
Polonnaruwa - - - - - - - - - - - - 5.9 0.3 16.3 0.6 20.5 0.6 - -
Badulla 5.1 1.6 5.9 1.4 8.0 1.5 9.8 1.5 16.3 1.6 22.1 1.8 42.3 2.1 55.4 1.9 51.6 1.6 53.0 2.1
Monaragala - - - - - - - - - - - - 3.4 0.2 5.1 0.2 6.0 0.2 - -
Rathnapura 3.5 1.1 4.0 1.0 6.3 1.2 8.1 1.3 14.5 1.4 19.0 1.5 26.3 1.3 50.0 1.8 59.2 1.9 58.4 2.4
Kegalle 3.1 1.0 2.3 0.6 2.5 0.5 3.5 0.5 4.9 0.5 5.5 0.4 17.5 0.9 46.1 1.6 52.8 1.7 17.4 0.7
Male　　　　Total 173.5 100.0 228.5 2522.1 305.8 100.0 360.9 100.0 595.1 100.0 702.9 100.0 1,092.2 100.0 1,513.0 100.0 1,669.4 100.0 1,246.8 100.0
Colombo 81.2 46.8 116.1 50.8 170.6 55.8 206.3 57.2 345.2 58.0 410.3 58.4 564.6 51.7 795.3 52.6 674.3 40.4 631.0 50.6
Gampaha - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 200.5 12.0 144.7 11.6
Kalutara 5.4 3.1 7.9 3.5 11.0 3.6 15.0 4.2 26.3 4.4 30.2 4.3 64.6 5.9 80.8 5.3 89.7 5.4 55.7 4.5
Kandy 13.3 7.7 20.3 8.9 25.4 8.3 27.6 7.6 44.9 7.5 52.5 7.5 66.5 6.1 80.0 5.3 76.0 4.6 77.4 6.2
Matale 2.5 1.4 3.0 1.3 3.5 1.1 4.5 1.2 7.9 1.3 9.7 1.4 16.0 1.5 19.7 1.3 19.9 1.2 17.5 1.4
Nuwara Eliya 1.7 1.0 3.1 1.4 4.7 1.5 4.5 1.2 6.3 1.1 10.9 1.6 13.7 1.3 15.0 1.0 20.6 1.2 22.0 1.8
Galle 17.0 9.8 18.8 8.2 21.0 6.9 21.2 5.9 30.0 5.0 34.0 4.8 64.6 5.9 77.7 5.1 82.1 4.9 54.9 4.4
Matara 4.3 2.5 9.7 4.2 11.1 3.6 12.6 3.5 17.0 2.9 20.1 2.9 30.8 2.8 32.9 2.2 34.7 2.1 31.5 2.5
Hambantota 21.4 12.3 2.7 1.2 3.4 1.1 3.9 1.1 5.6 0.9 5.9 0.8 11.8 1.1 17.7 1.2 22.3 1.3 11.2 0.9
Jaffna - - 17.1 7.5 20.1 6.6 21.7 6.0 33.5 5.6 41.3 5.9 77.7 7.1 118.7 7.8 136.2 8.2 - -
Manner - - - - - - - - - - - - 5.1 0.5 6.0 0.4 7.3 0.4 - -
Vauniya - - - - - - - - - - - - 6.7 0.6 11.6 0.8 10.3 0.6 - -
Mullaittivu - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3.9 0.2 - -
Kilinochchi - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Batticaloa 3.9 2.2 5.2 2.3 5.6 1.8 5.4 1.5 6.8 1.1 9.6 1.4 25.1 2.3 35.5 2.3 39.2 2.3 - -
Ampara - - - - - - - - - - - - 14.9 1.4 16.3 1.1 27.8 1.7 55.3 4.4
Trincomalee 6.4 3.7 6.1 2.7 4.5 1.5 4.9 1.4 24.4 4.1 15.5 2.2 20.0 1.8 39.4 2.6 44.0 2.6 - -
Kurunegala 2.9 1.7 4.0 1.8 5.1 1.7 7.5 2.1 9.5 1.6 12.8 1.8 17.1 1.6 23.4 1.5 23.8 1.4 17.8 1.4
Puttalam 5.1 2.9 5.1 2.2 6.2 2.0 8.0 2.2 9.3 1.6 11.9 1.7 20.5 1.9 27.2 1.8 31.9 1.9 32.0 2.6
Anuradhapuraya 1.7 1.0 2.4 1.1 3.5 1.1 5.0 1.4 7.7 1.3 11.1 1.6 19.3 1.8 22.1 1.5 23.1 1.4 31.4 2.5
Polonnaruwa - - - - - - - - - - - - 3.9 0.4 10.5 0.7 12.0 0.7 - -
Badulla 2.9 1.7 3.3 1.4 4.6 1.5 5.7 1.6 9.3 1.6 12.9 1.8 23.3 2.1 29.6 2.0 27.3 1.6 26.3 2.1
Monaragala - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.0 0.2 2.9 0.2 3.5 0.2 - -
Rathnapura 2.1 1.2 2.4 1.1 4.1 1.3 5.1 1.4 8.7 1.5 11.1 1.6 14.5 1.3 26.6 1.8 31.7 1.9 29.2 2.3
Kegalle 1.7 1.0 1.3 0.6 1.4 0.5 2.0 0.6 2.7 0.5 3.1 0.4 9.5 0.9 24.1 1.6 27.3 1.6 8.9 0.7
Female　　Total 146.5 100.0 185.6 2522.1 237.1 100.0 276.9 100.0 428.1 100.0 536.2 100.0 925.0 100.0 1,334.9 100.0 1,523.9 100.0 1,220.0 100.0
Colombo 64.5 44.0 88.7 47.8 121.4 51.2 147.0 53.1 233.3 54.5 299.1 55.8 459.3 49.7 680.9 51.0 590.8 38.8 590.9 48.4
Gampaha - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 187.8 12.3 157.0 12.9
Kalutara 5.5 3.8 7.5 4.0 10.4 4.4 14.3 5.2 24.3 5.7 27.8 5.2 62.0 6.7 78.6 5.9 88.3 5.8 57.0 4.7
Kandy 10.0 6.8 14.9 8.0 18.6 7.8 19.3 7.0 31.0 7.2 37.9 7.1 52.7 5.7 67.4 5.0 69.2 4.5 79.5 6.5
Matale 1.7 1.2 2.0 1.1 2.3 1.0 3.4 1.2 6.3 1.5 7.6 1.4 13.4 1.4 17.8 1.3 18.2 1.2 18.8 1.5
Nuwara Eliya 1.0 0.7 1.9 1.0 2.7 1.1 3.0 1.1 4.5 1.1 6.9 1.3 10.8 1.2 12.6 0.9 16.7 1.1 21.1 1.7
Galle 16.6 11.3 18.4 9.9 20.8 8.8 21.2 7.7 29.0 6.8 32.4 6.0 65.4 7.1 77.3 5.8 84.2 5.5 55.7 4.6
Matara 4.3 2.9 9.7 5.2 11.4 4.8 13.4 4.8 17.8 4.2 20.4 3.8 30.3 3.3 33.2 2.5 36.5 2.4 33.0 2.7
Hambantota 1.1 0.8 2.5 1.3 3.2 1.3 3.8 1.4 5.2 1.2 5.3 1.0 10.4 1.1 15.6 1.2 19.2 1.3 10.4 0.9
Jaffna 21.7 14.8 16.8 9.1 20.4 8.6 20.7 7.5 29.1 6.8 35.9 6.7 73.1 7.9 115.2 8.6 134.4 8.8 - -
Manner - - - - - - - - - - - - 3.9 0.4 5.1 0.4 6.6 0.4 - -
Vauniya - - - - - - - - - - - - 4.5 0.5 9.0 0.7 8.2 0.5 - -
Mullaittivu - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3.3 0.2 - -
Kilinochchi - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Batticaloa 3.4 2.3 4.8 2.6 5.1 2.2 5.2 1.9 6.3 1.5 7.8 1.5 24.2 2.6 33.7 2.5 40.2 2.6 - -
Ampara - - - - - - - - - - - - 13.7 1.5 15.7 1.2 25.5 1.7 57.1 4.7
Trincomalee 5.2 3.5 5.2 2.8 4.4 1.9 4.5 1.6 8.1 1.9 10.9 2.0 14.8 1.6 32.8 2.5 38.7 2.5 - -
Kurunegala 1.8 1.2 2.5 1.3 3.1 1.3 4.2 1.5 6.0 1.4 7.7 1.4 13.0 1.4 18.9 1.4 19.7 1.3 16.9 1.4
Puttalam 3.7 2.5 4.2 2.3 4.8 2.0 5.6 2.0 7.6 1.8 9.7 1.8 17.7 1.9 25.2 1.9 29.8 2.0 33.1 2.7
Anuradhapuraya 1.0 0.7 1.3 0.7 1.8 0.8 2.7 1.0 4.6 1.1 7.3 1.4 13.6 1.5 16.8 1.3 18.3 1.2 25.2 2.1
Polonnaruwa - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.0 0.2 5.8 0.4 8.5 0.6 - -
Badulla 2.2 1.5 2.6 1.4 3.4 1.4 4.1 1.5 7.0 1.6 9.2 1.7 19.0 2.1 25.8 1.9 24.3 1.6 26.7 2.2
Monaragala - - - - - - - - - - - - 1.4 0.2 2.2 0.2 2.5 0.2 - -
Rathnapura 1.4 1.0 1.6 0.9 2.2 0.9 3.0 1.1 5.8 1.4 7.9 1.5 11.8 1.3 23.3 1.7 27.5 1.8 29.1 2.4
Kegalle 1.4 1.0 1.0 0.5 1.1 0.5 1.5 0.5 2.2 0.5 2.4 0.4 8.0 0.9 22.0 1.6 25.5 1.7 8.5 0.7
© ２００８， KRI (Kusaka Research Institute) 
Source: 
Statistical Abstract 2004, Department of Census & Statistics
Revised:  2008(y)/07(m)/31(d)
Chief Editor:
　　 Dr. Milton Rajaratne (B.Com., M.Sc., Ph.D.)
     The Head, Department of Management Studies
     University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka